Comparing the Best Photo Editing Apps for iPhone

[@stalman]

Ok, but what apps did I miss? And thanks again to NordVPN for the support, don't forget to get them out! nordvpn.com/stalman

[@KaisuiSTFC]

RNI Films is my app to go on the iPhone, weird not seeing it here.

[@ku16513.]

Maybe not a pure photo editing app, but I think Prequel (I'd love to hear your opinion on that app) does a good job simulating film, vhs effects, rgb shifts, good looking noise/grain/dust. Been missing something like this for the desktop - of course it's achievable in photoshop but not in a one-click manner like in prequel, unless you buy a ton of expensive actions.

[@Stendalis]

RNI Films for filters!

[@sarimner]

Gradient and PREQUEL are pretty good to! And Halide as the Camera app. 🤙😎

[@milianriedel]

Lumibee for quick edits

[@bradbennett1420]

This is sick. I didn't expect exposure controls to vary as much across apps. I'm locked into my VSCO membership for another 6 months so I'm glad to see it performed so well lol

[@emiel333]

Great video. Pro tip: when editing photos, make sure True Tone is off.

[@thelucidcanoe1549]

Turned it off IMMEDIATELY aha thanks for the reminder!

[@emiel333]

@@thelucidcanoe1549 You’re welcome ☺️

[@r_bear]

Would be great if editing apps had the ability to disable it while foregrounded!

[@newecreator]

It's just a shame that VSCO removed clarity, tone, grain, and the A6 filter from their free tier.

[@shutterupandsmile]

Extremely frustrating, useless app now. Bought every filter befor they introduced the membership model. Now some payed filters are behind paywalls and the essential tools you mentioned as well. Please guy’s don’t support this app and pretty sad businessmodel anymore :(

[@mrgr]

Yep, it is useless now

[@gabrielgalassi]

When I saw they turned that a paid tool I unistalled immediately

[@ethanwasme4307]

ofc they did...

[@Vapidthexo]

Sad. They want more people to view their app but don’t appeal to us to use it enough to buy more features to access more.

[@carstenpxi]

Agree that the Apple Exposure is weird, along with several other controls. However, I normally start with the the Magic Wand Slider, find it gives good results, which I may touch up using highlights, shadows, and a bit of contrast or brightness. The more I use the Magic Wand slider, the more impressed I get with it, if I stay in the +- 50% range. I don’t know how to describe its behavior, but you can see the other sliders moving when adjusting the Magic Wand Slider. I have been a big Lightroom fan for many years, but have decided to see if I could get good results with Apple Photos. My first observation, was as yours, their controls don’t at all work like Lightroom. (Think Different) But the Magic Wand Slider was a positive surprise. Would appreciate if you perhaps could do a review of it, and explore if it is useful for you or not. It is important to forget the normal expectations to give it a chance.

[@jacobbo-lee6107]

In Snapseed defence, I would say the main filters and grain effects are under grainy film and not under the looks tab. And another thing I like about Snapseed is, it allows you to create your own filters and save it to the looks tab so you can easily access it

[@BabaNovac792]

.....and for FREE

[@eza_aditya]

​@@BabaNovac792 can you edit RAW on snapseed? (I don't have iPhone)

[@RobertJohnLora]

Note on the Apple Photos app (especially now, with iOS 16) that might make it more useful! I’ve created a few filters using the default Apple filters, setting them to 30-50%, hitting auto, and then adjusting slightly according to taste (e.g., lowering “blacks” while raising “definition,” adjusting temperature when needed to compensate for some of the weird filters, etc.). I save the edits to a certain photo and put that photo in an album called “Films,” which I can then use to copy and paste edits to my recent photos and videos now that iOS 16 allows for that. The reason I like Apple Photos over the others is because it allows me to edit my videos and photos all with the same looks, and even the loop/bounce gifs from Live Photos.

[@user-fi6hg8vq6c]

Saving up photos as filter placeholders is actually genius.

[@user-fi6hg8vq6c]

I’ve noticed that you can share these albums of “film” so basically shareable presets.

[@RobertJohnLora]

@@user-fi6hg8vq6c Yeah it's great! You can share "All Photos Data" by clicking "Options," when sharing, so it passes along the edits exactly as you've made them.

[@lozarmusic]

Darkroom has been my go to for months and they do have a grain slider that I use often I noticed u missed at the end.

[@erinfuller1827]

The side-by-side comparisons were very helpful, thank you.

[@ByronWrightJr]

Great video. I am very much a rookie photographer that is wanting to shoot on my iPhone and wanting to know how to edit and what I need to look for when it comes to what makes a good photo. This helped with what editing app I need to use now I am going to learn more about what makes a great photo. Thanks. Keep up the great work. 👍🏽

[@samuelkitevski144]

Actually, Pixelmator Photo provides the same ability as Lightroom to add custom presets (including LUT’s) on iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

[@stalman]

Good to know, thanks! I need to spend more time with it, I just bought the Mac app too

[@dantsai]

as a darkroom & lightroom user, completely agree with your take. Darkroom has great tools that work well, but its greatest weakness is the poor built-in filters. I would also say that their "Shadows" and "Blacks" sliders don't work very well either in my experience, Lightroom is better for bringing up the shadows.

[@r_bear]

Those were redone very recently-any feeling about the updated version?

[@dantsai]

​@@r_bear yeah, it's *WAY* better now! In the past I wouldn't touch those sliders (if I needed to adjust them, I'd go into Lightroom), but they're very usable now. Give it a try if you haven't yet! The filters have been improved as well with preset sharing

[@jacobbo-lee6107]

I feel like for what I need it for Snapseed is the best and it’s also free so I guess I’ll stick with that, the selection tool is so easy to use and powerful, I also like that when I save over my original photo, I can still reset it back to the original in the Photos app really easily so I don’t have duplicates

[@khushturna907]

Bought an A7c and been using light room Auto presets are awesome and learning a lot Using an iPad Pro and paying for it through adobe directly

[@PillzBerry27]

The two best apps for photos are Afterlight and Vsco. The way your telling Vsco I bought it because you explain why it better. Great job my friend.✌🏿💯😉

[@rarehex]

Loved this type of video, try a video version! Would be really interesting! Great job Tyler!!

[@AJGolosino]

Can you do one for video editing apps for phones. There may be times when we are on-the-go and can’t edit on our laptops.

[@EoghanBell]

Lightroom is my jam jsut because of the crossover with computer.

[@stalman]

That's a huge feature for a lot of people, especially pros

[@TheGiantAngryRobot]

I really love editing my fuji raws with Pixelmator pro on the iPad.

[@Wärkky90]

Wow.! Just what I'm looking for! Thank you. Old video but same app nowadays.😊

[@xupito5760]

Do you lose image quality after downloading back the image from the editor?

[@jorjlim]

Can you do the best photo “taking” apps?

[@TheGossamerGroup]

Thank you so much for focusing on the tools of what’s most important in choosing the better app! You just saved me so much time!

[@ladyhawken]

Do you use Lightroom Classic or the new cloud-based version on your desktop? I've been using Classic for years, but I miss having all my images with me on the go. I've tried Apple Photos several times, but each time it just disappoints. Highlight and shadow recovery is awful and almost useless. I'm thinking about changing my Adobe-subscription to the Lightroom cloud version, but it just seems like a much worse deal than the Classic subscription. Yes, you get 1TB of cloud storage, but you loose Photoshop (on both desktop and iPad) and several other smaller apps. I do have Affinity Photo, so I could probably live without Photoshop though.

[@stalman]

Always Classic, I tried to make the new one work and it’s just not good enough for pros

[@slimhim]

I love darkroom! I don’t care about filters, not at all! But what stops me from using Darkroom and has kept me in the Adobe eco is that Darkroom doesn’t allow renaming filenames when exporting and they have no intention to add that according to their support team 😔 😩

[@waawaaweewaa2045]

Thanks for this. I always got the impression that the native ios photo editor was doing something funky and this confirms it.

[@ADVRaiderKTM]

Has the iPhone photos app on the iPhone 14 / ios 16 improved at all?

[@WWEtheHunter]

guys plz tell me what is the best app for adding texts and photos for the photo?

[@Rudel23]

Good video! Thanks. All these apps are suitable for raw files also?

[@brooklynbound1000]

I do like VSCO but it’s been crashing on me recently when exporting a photo. So it’s essentially useless for me.

[@Play8125]

Oh a video in Estoi? How cool. Hope you've enjoyed Portugal 💪

[@ChelseaLito617]

Can you please do an in depth review of the pro camera. Manual + HDR app and/or a compare video of this app and the pro camera by moment app ! It would be greatly appreciated !! Seems like pro camera (not moment) released a major update last month!

[@IanMcCausland]

That cafe kitsune shirt!! Where’d you get it!? Oh I’m old school SNAPSEED, paid real money back in early iPhone days! $4.99 when everything was .99

[@ashikislam8370]

i can't choose. help me. which app is best. please.

[@castelll13]

amazing comparison and very useful, thanks!

[@dtimekeeper]

Is the exposure in the live camera view similarly bad as the photo editor? I guess editing in live before taking a photo is still better than tweaking exposure after (non-RAW)?

[@stalman]

Changing exposure before you shoot is completely different and the main tool you have to correct exposure. Editing in an app is a distinct second place

[@CaptainCory]

I respectfully disagree with you about the photos app itself. It’s not the best but feel like it’s better than you gave it credit for. Everything else though I think you were spot on.

[@barron204]

I have been happy using Pixelmator Pro for two years. But it has some issues. The provided tutorials are good to refresh my abilities when I forget how to do something.

[@leonxing1458]

Love this video! What about Afterlight?

[@stalman]

Haven’t used it in a while, but they have nice presets

[@DonnieGQX]

Did you try Polarr i think it's fun to use. It lets you add LUTs too.

[@stalman]

I haven't tried it, unfortunately there were lots I had to leave out for time but I'll take a look!

[@XxMazizo14xX]

How can i send a large amount of files and edit pictures without losing quality?

[@moondustberries8171]

i’ve noticed most people seem to not mention the prequel app.. am I doing something here?

[@malcomjudd]

Now do this but for Mac Photo Editing apps!

[@stalman]

I would love to, not sure how I'll keep that video under an hour 😅

[@MaybeKien]

Love the colors of your outfit. 😍

[@oscargarcia2313]

Tyler now with 48mp Pro RAW photos in the Iphone 14 Pro, is there an app where you can Edit the pro raw pic and then save it in HIEC o HIEF or another format to save space but without losing the detail ? Thank you !!

[@r_bear]

Darkroom can export 48MP ProRAW to HEIF, yeah

[@PTRK490]

I was addicted to VSCO for years. But after their shitty update, i deleted it. Right now i'm using Snapseed and Lightroom mobile. Killers!🔥

[@ikonographics]

It would be nice if the iPhone 13 pro could actually take photos that aren't so overprocessed that they look like oil paintings. No amount of post processing will make them look like a photo. I bought it to replace my Samsung Note 10 and was utterly disappointed. The image quality is horrendous.

[@davidgalindo1279]

I use lens distortions app, pretty good too

[@BrettMeredith]

Great video! I’ve used VSCO a lot, but I had been using Apple’s stuff recently. I’ll get away from that! Haha What app/camera do you use? Default Camera or something else?

[@alyally5798]

Can you help me a second please? In future when i improved myself little bit more (not a real professional, i just do it as hobby), i wanna have a small income from my photos (like travel) but i really hate editing part. Which app would be helpful for me for a easy and fast way to edit?

[@amirshokouhi3126]

Great video. Being an amateur, I thought their basic functions like brightness are all the same more less. 😅 Thanks

[@alexar4583]

The VSCO update totally ruined the app for me, uploading pictures was so much simpler and the interface was well put together

[@xano1982]

all photos have beeen taken with default photo app?

[@stalman]

Yes

[@racheljackson694]

Which app would you recommend overall?

[@JoshAmes1980]

Great video. I've always wanted to love Darkroom since it integrates with your iPhone's photo library but the editing tools just don't come close to doing as good a job as Lightroom.

[@EggTamago7]

Seconded on this. I love the way it integrates, but it lags behind on a few fundamentals that others apps just do better. I haven't used it in a while, but the lack of a clarity/definition/texture kind of adjustment particularly put me off. Not sure if that's been added yet.

[@andreianghe]

@@EggTamago7 It has been added. And they also have very powerful masks now just like Lightroom. Im so mad that he didn't mention them in the video.

[@bryan.w.t]

Perfect as I’m in a editing dilemma, both on mobile and desktop

[@Maorifpv]

Apple said iPhone 13 pro photos shouldn’t be edit in Lightroom or other edit app because of the automatic HDR that can’t be disable its that true ?

[@stalman]

I’m not sure what you mean by that, Apple and iPhones work great with tons of apps 😊

[@skymakai]

I recently went back to using LR Mobile to take and edit my photos on the go.

[@IanSAbraham]

What about Photoshop Express?

[@Bharatha231]

Sir free iphone edditing app Cup cute Kine master Pr VN Spring app sir Android prinienum Ipone free edditing sofftware... ⁉️

[@ruff1draft]

I use snapseed alot for my street photography

[@justincosplay]

great video...its crazy apples exposure is still so bad.... one thing that would have been good to compare is Instagram's native editing apps. im sure alot of people still use that all the time...wait what am I saying no one posts photos on instagam anymore :)

[@verth1390]

I’ll never forgive the Apple photos app for removing the Chrome filter… the reds the blues the yellows!…it was outstanding…Sweet Moses bring it back Mr Cook! 😎

[@MickiMinach]

Thanks for making this video! Now I dont have to try and risk membership to know if an app is worth it

[@Mehdi90s]

lightroom & RNI films are the best app for iphone

[@CreativeTies_]

I would've loved to see the instagram app included in it. Just to see how it compares

[@kvnale]

You missed Priime. I absolutely love the filters and adjustments tools! A downside would be that the app is somewhat glitchy.

[@jonlenzmeier5332]

I am (was) a big fan of Priime too. It’s a real shame there’s no longer any support for it and it’s been pretty much left to rot. I mean, they still haven’t put back the simple “copy/paste” function that they promised they’d put back in. I’ve mailed the developers but there’s never any response.

[@TheSpade357]

why no Affinity Photo?

[@broderick7932]

still hoping for that video on Professional iPhone Workflows. 🙏🏾

[@EduardoHenrique-nd1ro]

Another amazing video, Tyler! Thanks for sharing with us! Cheers from Brazil!

[@vimalarun7358]

Cool vlogs..🤘🏻love from india

[@noliberalbull]

Oh man. All that power tool stuff you mentioned in Lightroom… darkroom has added too. Kills me you missed it.

[@stalman]

Yeah i found it after, definitely a miss on my part

[@dwrans6147]

Snapseed is awesome 🍊

[@Robert-bi4uf]

Anyone know of an app that does something like Lightroom‘s Upright feature?

[@vertyka6249]

10:38 yooo Seville❤️

[@MusicMirror18]

Grain 2 part of my main uses on vsco and M2, M3, M5 filters. Starting to get into filters IH5 and KC25

[@yarfadoibrahim8158]

It's so hard to select please can you explain what each app does very well which one is best for pictures

[@AJSaputraID]

Hail Pixelmator Photo 👍

[@christophercristobal6714]

I use hypic. I used it to uploud arura

[@drrrw]

Snapseed ever since. Free and tons of tools but liking Lr mobile.

[@CommunityFirst1]

Can we do another video just on mobile retouching? What are your top apps?

[@pauvedri6460]

Thanx for te vídeo but Capture One for mobile is the best.

[@MaiElizabeth]

Apple’s Photo developers are kinda lazy. After so many iteration of iOS, very very very few changes done to iPhone Photo apps. Looks like they are focusing more on mac’s version of Photo app. The same useless filters and the same old adjustment tool.

[@ruff1draft]

I wish snapseed was available on laptops.

[@DanBuell]

Yikes, I love your videos, but you kind of screwed up out of the gate. On Apple photos, exposure and brightness are two different things thus you’re not giving and apples to apples comparison when you can move brightness on one app, but exposure on another. Also, not every preset on Lightroom desktop works on Lightroom mobile. Well, it seems like this review represents to me is it you have your favorite tools and now your criteria is I like this tool so it seems like a circular loop to me. I don’t see you really diving in like I would love to see somebody do, but that may make for a boring video I admit.

[@stalman]

Definitely not as deep of a dive as the apps deserve, but regarding the Apple brightness/exposure, neither creates a desirable result. Plus, neither of the words provide any clarity in terms of how they will behave. In camera, "exposure" means you'll get a very specific tone response and if software titles a slider "exposure" it should attempt to emulate that variable.

[@pdcorlis]

It’s a pity Apple buried Aperture - a world class photo editor that really worked. Apple should resurrect it.

[@Tmthy_Dstn]

Capture one

[@BreadOnDeckk]

I miss photoshop mix 😢

[@grajniepierdol]

Dziękuję za pomoc

[@imgc420]

could have added picsart !

[@christophercristobal6714]

I use hypic

[@bamboohouse564]

All d editing doesnt matter anymore. More skins and more muscles will attract viewer dy

[@MartinLeschinski]

top timing!

[@RGPphotog]

iOS? Thought this was gonna be desktop macOS apps..

[@ktbeatty]

The title of the video, best editing apps for iPhone, somehow led you to believe it macOS focused? FWIW, as he alluded to with Lightroom, in many ways the iOS version is much more advanced than the desktop. They've used the ML stuff that's been built into the A series chips and iOS for a while now to do things you can't do on desktop without time consuming manual effort. I'm sure that will be changing with the M series in Macs now, but it's amazing to knock out an incredibly accurate, complex selection with a single click on the phone, when the same selection, even in full Photoshop, on the desktop takes a lot of manual refinement work to match.

[@RGPphotog]

@@ktbeatty Title was changed after my feedback. "For iPhone" was not originally in the title. Issue was resolved.

[@ktbeatty]

@@RGPphotog Fair enough!

[@Augusto0926]

Darkroom definitely has grain 😂

[@colefox2882]

This man is soooo damn gorgeous 💘💘💘💘

[@nabeelabdulqader3664]

You talk fast an not follow without putting names of admitting pro on screen

[@mosesmathias7708]

That's not apple's camera its sony's

[@TheOnlyTaps]

👌🏿🔥

[@jcru40]

if apple does a great app then people won't buy other apps that they charging them to have on App Store, greedy